Each Way Betting
An each way bet is two bets stapled together: one half backs your selection to win, the other half backs it to place — to finish inside the top few. So a “R100 each way” isn’t R100 down, it’s R200: R100 on the win and R100 on the place. Get your head around that doubling first, because it’s where most of the confusion lives. The bet earns its keep in big fields where outright winning is a long shot but finishing near the front is realistic.
How the two halves settle
Once placed, your each way bet has three possible endings.
- Your pick wins. Both halves pay. The win half settles at the full odds; the place half settles at the place fraction. This is the big return.
- Your pick places but doesn’t win. The win half loses, the place half pays. You often come out roughly level or a little up, depending on the price — the place return cushions the miss.
- Your pick finishes out of the places. Both halves lose. You’re down the full R200.
The place half is what you’re really paying the extra stake for: a second, easier way for the bet to return something.
Place terms and fractions
The place half never pays at the full win odds — it pays a fraction of them, over a set number of places. Both are set by the bookmaker per event and shown on the slip before you confirm, so always read them.
| Place fraction | A 16.00 winner’s place half pays |
|---|---|
| 1/4 (a quarter) | as if priced 4.00 |
| 1/5 (a fifth) | as if priced 3.20 |
The number of places scales with the field. A small race might pay the first two or three; a major golf tournament or a big handicap can pay five, six, sometimes more. More places means more chances for the place half to land — which is exactly why field size decides whether each way is worth it.
A worked example, in rand
You back a golfer at 26.00 to win a major, R100 each way, so R200 total. The terms are 1/5 the odds, six places. He finishes fourth — inside the places, but no win.
- Win half: loses. That’s R100 gone.
- Place half: pays at a fifth of 26.00, which is 5.20. A R100 stake at 5.20 returns R520.
Net result: R520 back on R200 staked, a R320 profit, with no winner. Had he taken the title, the win half would have paid R2,600 on top. That cushion on a near-miss is the entire appeal of the bet.
Where each way actually earns its keep
This is a bet for the right situation, not every slip. It works when two things line up: a big field and a selection at a genuine outsider’s price with a realistic shot at placing.
- Golf is the classic. Majors run 70-plus players over four rounds, and a 40.00 outsider grinding into the top six is far more achievable than winning outright. The dedicated golf bet types guide goes into the formats in full.
- Horse and greyhound racing with large fields — big handicaps especially, where a longshot placing is a real outcome.
Where it’s a waste: short-priced favourites, where the place fraction barely returns your stake, and small fields, where there are too few places to make the place half worth the doubled outlay. On a four-runner race paying two places, each way is usually just throwing money at a near-certainty for a thin return.
Place the win and the place
Each way is a tool for outsiders in deep fields, and a poor fit anywhere else. Check the place terms before you confirm, do the doubling in your head so the stake never surprises you, and save it for the golf majors and big handicaps where finishing near the front is the realistic win. You’ll find each way as a single tickbox on the relevant markets at Scorebet, where the price formats and place terms are shown on the slip before you commit.
Frequently asked
What is an each way bet?
It's two equal bets in one: half your stake on the selection to win, half on it to place — to finish inside the top few. A R100 each way bet is really R200 down, R100 on each half.
How is the place part of an each way bet paid?
The place half pays at a fraction of the win odds, commonly a quarter or a fifth, over a set number of places. If your pick places but doesn't win, you collect the place return and lose the win half.
When is an each way bet worth it?
In big fields where your selection is a genuine outsider with a real chance of placing — golf majors and large horse races especially. On short-priced favourites or small fields the place return is too thin to bother.
When does the place half of an each way bet actually lose money even if your pick places?
When the win odds are short enough that the place fraction returns less than the place stake. At 1/5 terms, a price under 6.00 means the place half pays out at under evens — so on a 4.00 favourite placing, the fifth-the-odds return is below your place stake and that half loses despite the result going your way. That's the maths behind never backing short prices each way.
What is an extra-places promotion and why does it shift the value of an each way bet?
On big golf and racing days bookmakers sometimes pay an extra place or two beyond the standard terms — say six places instead of five — at the same fraction. That hands you a free additional way to collect the place half without raising your stake, which genuinely tilts an each way bet in your favour. On those days the each way can be value on selections it wouldn't be at standard terms, so the extra-places line is worth hunting for.